Chute control mechanism



May 5, 1970 R. J. BACON 3,509,977

CHUTE CONTROL MECHANISM Filed May 1, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 T'IE'| lINVENTOR- ROGER J. BACON ATTORNEY May 5, 1970 R. J. BACON CHUTE CONTROLMECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 1, 1967 INVENTOR.

ROGER J BACON ATTORNEY United States Patent U.S. Cl. 193-22 2 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An upright, generally cylindrical dischargechute is rotatably mounted on the upper end of a tubular verticalconduit leading upwardly from the snow-gathering housing of a poweredsnow-removal unit of the type known as a snow-caster. The chute islocked on the conduit by a tubular cord that fits into concentricsemicylindrical grooves of the two members, and rotation of the chuterelative to the conduit to vary direction-a1 orientation of thedischarge opening at the upper end of the chute is controlled by apower-actuated lever which is connected to the chute by means of acable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to apparatusfor controlling the movement of one structural member relative to anassociated member, and more particularly concerns an improved mechanismfor mounting a discharge chute on the housing of a conventionalsnow-caster and for controlling the adjustable rotation of the chuterelative to the housing to vary the directional orientation of adischarge opening at the upper end of the chute.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Heretofore the chutes of snow-casters havebeen rotated by motor-powered gear mechanisms such as that disclosed inthe US. Pat. No. 2,603,007. However, power cylinders have never beenused for this purpose nor has the simple, lever and cable mechanism ofthe present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The chute control mechanism of thepresent invention features a double-acting power cylinder that isconnected to one end of a lever which is pivoted at an intermediatepoint on the top wall of the housing of a snow-caster. A cable, which isconnected to the lever adjacent the power cylinder connection, iswrapped around and secured to the chute and has its opposite endconnected to the end of the lever that is on the other side of the pivotaxis from the power cylinder connection. Accordingly, when pressurizedfluid is directed to one end of the power cylinder, the lever is pivotedcounter-clockwise to cause a pull on the cable and rotate the chute in afirst direction. When fluid is directed to the other end of the powercylinder, the lever is pivoted clockwise, causing the cable to rotatethe chute in an opposite direction. Thus, a single power cylinder, asingle lever, and a single cable are effective to control the rotaryposition of the snow-caster chute.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevation of the chute adjusting mechanism ofthe present invention shown mounted on the housing of a snow-casterwhich is propelled by a typical garden tractor.

FIG. 2 is a section taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical section taken along line 33 ofFIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a section taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

3,509,977 Patented May 5, 1970 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTIn FIG. 1, the reference numeral 10 indicates generally a portion of arelatively small powered vehicle of the type commonly referred to as agarden tractor. These vehicles are adapted to carry and operate variousmechanisms such as lawn-mowers, rotary cultivators, and plows and thelike and, in FIG. 1, the vehicle 10 is illustrated in driving andpushing engagement with a snow-caster 12. The snow-caster is of the typethat has a housing 13, open at its front side, and helicalsnow-gathering elements 14 in the housing which remove snow from theground and force it inwardly from the opposite ends of the housingtoward a rotary impeller that hurls the snow upwardly through a tubularconduit 16 which communicates with the interior of the housing throughan opening 18 (FIG. 3) in the top wall 19'of the housing. The upper endof the conduit 16 is cylindrical and is provided with an annular,generally semi-cylindrical, outwardly-facing groove 21 in its outersurface. A discharge chute 22 has a cylindrical lower end 22a on theinner surface of which is an annular, inwardly-directed semi-cylindricalgroove 23. A Teflon tube 30 is disposed in the opening formed by the twooppositely-facing grooves and is effective to act as a key to engage thewalls of the composite groove and prevent separation of the chute 22from the conduit 16 while acting as a bearing to facilitate relativerotation of these members. The Teflon tube is positioned in thecomposite groove after the chute 22 has been brought to the positionshown in FIG. 3 over the upper end of the conduit 12. First, a setscrew32 (FIG. 4) is threaded into a tapped hole 33 in the lower end 22a ofchute 22 so that the inner end of the screw projects across the groove.The tube 30 is then inserted into a passage 35 in the chute portion 22awhich leads to the composite groove. The tube 30 is of a length suchthat, when its leading end abuts the setscrew 33, its trailing end willbe far enough inside the passage 35 to permit a pipe plug 36 to bethreaded into the passage to lock the tube 30 in the groove.

A double acting hydraulic power cylinder 50 (FIG. 2) has one end 50apivotally mounted on a rigid flange 52 that is secured to and projectsupwardly from the top wall 19 of the housing. A rod 54, connected to thepiston of the cylinder 50, is pivoted at 55 to a flat lever 56 which isin turn pivoted at 57 to the top wall 19. A metal cable 60 has an endportion 60a that passes through an opening 62 in an upstanding tab 56aof lever 56 and has a collar 64 secured thereto. The cable is trainedaround a pulley 66, which is rotatably mounted on top wall 19, and thebight of the cable is disposed ina spiral groove 68 (FIG. 3) in theouter surface of the chute 22. A setscrew 70 locks the cable to thechute. The cable is also trained around a second rotatable pulley 72 ontop wall 19 and has an end portion passing through an aperture in aflange 56b of the lever 56. A coil spring 74 encircles the cable 60 andis disposed between the flange 56b and a washer 75 that bears against anabutment 76 provided at the extreme end of the cable. The springmaintains the cable taut.

It will be evident that, when pressurized fluid is directed into one endof power cylinder 50 the lever 56 will be pivoted in a clockwisedirection (FIG. 2) and the chute 22 will be pivoted counterclockwise.Conversely, when the pressurized fluid is directed into the other end ofcylinder 50, the chute will be pivoted clockwise. The amount of pivotingof the chute can be controlled by the duration of application of thepressurized fluid.

Having thus described the invention, that which is believed to be new,and for which protection by the issue of Letters Patent is desired, is:

1. A mechanism for controlling the angular position of a tubular chuterelative to a tubular conduit on which said chute is rotatably mountedcomprising a support structure mounting the conduit in a fixed position,an elongate lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on saidsupport structure, a helical groove formed in the outer surface of saidchute, a cable, said cable having a loop formed at an intermediateportion and lying in said helical groove thereby encompassingsubstantially the entire periphery of said chute, said cable furtherhaving its ends crossing over and attached to the ends of said lever,and actuating means for pivoting said lever, said actuating means beingoperative to efiect rotation of said chute relative to said conduit byimparting tension to said cable which in turn imparts a turning momentto said chute.

2. The mechanism according to claim 1 further comprising a springlocated between one end of said cable and said lever for applyingtension to said cable to maintain it taut and to absorb the inertialeffects encountered in commencing rotation of said chute.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1901 Conner 302-10 5/ 1910Smithdeal 74-89.2 3/1913 Walton 7489.2 6/1934 Shippee 285--305 X 10/1956 J elinek.

10/1963 Thompson 30260 1/1966 Beckett et a1 3026O 3/1966 Leinfelt 285305X 12/ 1967 Seymour et a1 30260 FOREIGN PATENTS 4/1954 Canada.

3/ 1967 Switzerland.

ANDRES H. NIELSEN, Primary Examiner

